trailblazr's Identifications

Relatively large, 4 mm long, Tick (Dermacentor genus) picked off a friend’s neck in the Del Monte Forest.

Ticks have 8 legs, therefore ticks are NOT Insects, they are Arachnids. Dog Ticks (Dermacentor genus) are in the Arachnids (Arachnida) Class (but they are not spiders either).
Field Guide to Spiders of California and the Pacific Coast States, RJ Adams and Tim Manolis, 2014, pp. 3-8.

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TICKS--Examples of 4 species of Hardbacked Ticks (Ixodidae) family on the Central Coast of California:

Pacific Coast Tick (Dermacentor occidentalis) https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/203034491
BugGuide: https://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=Dermacentor+occidentalis
BugGuide: Male is more spotted and has less pronounced shoulder plate than female: https://bugguide.net/node/view/96854
Female shoulder plate is beige, giving it a two-tone appearance from a distance.
BugGuide: Female and male (smaller female is on top)
https://bugguide.net/node/view/909245

American Dog Tick (Dermacentor variabilis) https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/166487859 (male)
BugGuide: https://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=Dermacentor+variabilis

Western Dog Tick (Dermacentor similis) https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/207705926
BugGuide https://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=Dermacentor+similis

Western Black-legged Tick (Ixodes pacificus) https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/205460117
BugGuide: https://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=Ixodes+pacificus

Ticks have 8 legs, with 7 segments. Each leg tip has a pair of claws--that's 14 hooks to latch onto prey. After hatching from the egg, a tick must obtain a blood meal at every stage to survive. Ticks can transmit a variety of bacterial diseases via their saliva into people. Ticks can feed on mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. They wait on the ends of plants or shrubs until they are brushed off onto unsuspecting prey. Ticks of different species "don’t prey on each other. They are often found together, questing for hosts." INat trailblazr

Ticks are in the Arachnids (Arachnida) Class. Arachnids are joint-legged invertebrate animals (Arthropods) that have 2 body segments, the cephalothorax and the abdomen, and 8 legs (therefore, arachnids are NOT insects). Arachnida includes, among others, spiders, scorpions, ticks, mites, pseudoscorpions, harvestmen, camel spiders, whip spiders and vinegaroons.

Field Guide to Spiders of California and the Pacific Coast States, RJ Adams and Tim Manolis, 2014, pp. 3-8.

Tick tupperware cups are handy to have in the field so you can photograph the tick before it gets away. I buy 12 for $1.25 at the Dollar Store. Medical providers can offer more precise diagnosis and treatment if you bring in the tick that was imbedded in your body.

INaturalist Projects for Tick observations: Medically-Important Arthropods
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/medically-important-arthropods
and https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/investickations